At the other end of the importance spectrum is Sunday’s game in Glendale, Ariz.

The 4-9 Detroit Lions have lost five in a row; the 4-9 Arizona Cardinals, nine in a row.

The loser remains in the NFC basement. The winner? It'll have less to brag about than George Lucas at a romance novelist's convention.

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THE 3 BIG MATCHUPS

Jim Harbaugh vs. Bill Belichick

Two of the NFL's best head coaches (who know it, BTW) match wits for the first time Sunday night. Harbaugh brings his San Francisco 49ers to Foxboro to play the Patriots, in a potential Super Bowl preview. The Niners allow the fewest points in the league (14.2), while the Pats score the most (36.3). Hurry-up offence vs. harassment defence. Rock vs. hard place. All that.

Pittsburgh & Dallas vs. carelessness

The Steelers and Cowboys should consider themselves fortunate they're both still in the playoff hunt, each at 7-6. That's because they're two of the league's sloppiest teams -- Dallas has a minus-10 turnover margin, and Pittsburgh's is minus-13. Take a guess as to what both teams' coaches were preaching this week.

Mr. Commercials vs. Mr. Triceps & Mr. Biceps

Peyton Manning leads the Denver Broncos into Baltimore, where linebackers Ray Lewis (triceps injury) and Terrell Suggs (biceps injury) hope to return, to shore up the Ravens' injury-ravaged defence. Baltimore has dropped two in succession, and Lewis and Suggs might provide the needed spark to slow down Manning and the Broncs.

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SUNDAY BRUNCH

A quick-hit breakfast item to whet your Week 15 appetite:

It doesn't add up that the Indianapolis Colts are 9-4.

On average, they're allowing two points more per game than they're scoring. Indeed, they rank 23rd in the NFL in scoring defence (25 points per game), and 17th in scoring offence (23).

And all this ...

Their defence by every meaningful measure is below par. The Colts rank 21st in total defence, 18th in rush defence, 20th in pass defence and 26th in sacks.

Their offence is 17th in scoring but only 22nd in rushing.

Andrew Luck leads the NFL's eighth-best passing attack, but even he ranks only 31st in passing efficiency.

Most shocking of all, only two teams in the NFL have a worse turnover margin than Indy's minus-16: the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs, both minus-22.

Must be the new math.

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Carolina Panthers rookie linebacker Luke Kuechly has become every bit the tackling machine he was at Boston College.

After last Sunday's 16-tackle effort in Carolina's win over Atlanta, Kuechly jumped into the NFL lead, with 130 on the season. He has double-digit tackles in eight of Carolina's 13 games.

Chad Greenway of Minnesota is second to Kuechly, with 126 tackles. Jerod Mayo of New England is third, with 125.

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The most sacked quarterback in the league is Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers -- 42 times.

The least sacked of QBs who have played the whole season is the New York Giants' Eli Manning -- only 14 times. Matt Schaub is next, 17. Then Peyton Manning, 19.

Number of game-winning TD passes thrown in the final 2 minutes or OT by Seattle's Russell Wilson -- the most by any rookie QB since at least 1970.

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TOP ROOKIE SACK SPECIALIST

Bruce Irvin, defensive end

Seattle Seahawks

Rookie defensive end Bruce Irvin is so effective at harassing the quarterback, he has helped to improve the Seattle Seahawks pass rush across the board.

“We’ve been working at it for two years, but finally you got to see the impact that you get out of (DE) Chris Clemons when you have Bruce Irvin on the other side,” Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said earlier this season.

And Irvin only is a rookie.

In April the Seahawks made him their first-round pick, 15th overall, with this very intention.

Clemons leads the team with 9.0 sacks through 13 games. Irvin is second, with 8.0 – more than any other NFL rookie.

And Irvin doesn’t even play half the time. He’s a pass-rush specialist all the way so far in his young career, and he makes the most of those opportunities.

A 6-foot-3, 248 pounds, Irvin doesn’t carry as much weight as most NFL pass rushers. Thus he’s probably more fast and agile than most. That creates problems for the behemoths on the offensive line.

Irvin has had three multi-sack games – against Green Bay, Carolina and the New York Jets.

The native of Atlanta – who played his college ball at West Virginia – also has forced a fumble.

He suits up on Sunday for the Seahawks against Buffalo at the Rogers Centre, in the annual Bills-in-Toronto game.